General Newspapers and magazine articles on English Rakugo in general that cannot be categorize sections below: Australian Tour in 2001, Singapore & Star Cruises Tour in 2000, Singapore Tour in 1999, US Tour 1998, Performances in Japan. June 8th, 2004 to July 11th,2004 December 1st, 2003 to April 17-18th,2004 June 1st, 2003 to August 1st, 2003 September 1st, 2002 to February 1st, 2003 May 1st to June 10th, 2002 March 1st to April 15th, 2002 December 22nd, 1998 to January 29th, 2002

Chicago and St. Louis Tour, 2004 In March 2004, the English Rakugo troupe visited Chicago and St. Louis in the states for the performance. Chicago is famous for its theater arts and comedy. The English Rakugo had a great chance to perform at "The Second City" which is the place where many famous American comedians started their careers. It was a wonderful experience. In St. Louis, the group mainly performed at schools - Washington University that is the host of this tour, some elementary schools, and some workshops at music and Japanese classes at the university.

Philippines and Malaysia Tour, 2003 The English Rakugo performance tour in 2003 (August 26 to September 8th) was to Southeast Asia - Cebu Island, Manila (Philippines), Penang Island, and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). This time again, was supported by Japan Foundation for the two weeks of performance tour. Especially, we have visited Philippines for the first time, and it was best received ever! Standing ovations were seen so many times during the show. The capacity of the theater was 800, but there were a lot more people watching the show standing behind the seats. We also had wonderful time together with the local comedians at workshops.

Thailand, Malaysia, and Australia Tour In 2002, with the full support of The Japan Foundation, the troup took a tour of three weeks. From August 17th to September 4th, in three different countries, five different cities, the troup performed 13 shows. The heat of Bangkok and KL, and the cold wind in Brisbane, Sydney, and Perth. But all members of English Rakugo kept themselves in great conditions. It was the first time to visit Thailand, and was surprised to see many younger audience in Bangkok. It is quite different from the audience of Rakugo in Japan. The Japanese audience is kind of "grey" looking from the stage... Thailand Performance: August 18th to 19th, 2002 Malaysia Performance: August 23th to 24th, 2002 Australia Performance: August 26th to September 2nd, 2002

Performances in Japan Introduction to some of the English Rakugo shows performed in Japan. Morioka Performance: May 17th, 2002 Tokyo Performance: November 22nd, 2001

Australian Tour, 2001 From August 22nd to September 2nd, the troupe went around Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, and Darwin for English Rakugo performance, total of seven stages. The member is, as usual, Shofukutei Kakushow, Katsura Asakichi, Katsura Kaishi, Hayashiya Kazume (shamisen), and Kimie Oshima. One of the biggest event of Australian Tour was the performance at Opera House in Sydney. It was part of Japan Night, and the audience of 2400 Australians enjoyed English Rakugo. People loved it a lot and there were so much of laughter during a story so that the performer had to stop telling the story, waiting for the laughter to stop to continue on.

Singapore & Star Cruises Tour, 2000 From August 27th to September 3rd, the troupe performed English Rakugo in Singapore and went on the Star Cruise which left Singapore to Malaysia. The usual member in the troupe was excited to perform on the huge cruise which had 2000 guests! The theater on the cruise holds capacity of 934 audience, and it was filled for English Rakugo right after the Russian topless dance.

Singapore Tour, 1999 From August 26th to 29th, the troupe performed six stages of English Rakugo show. This time, Hayashiya Ippei (a Rakugo performer from Tokyo) joined the usual troupe member. MC/Produce by Kimie Oshima, Shamisen by Hayashiya Kazume, and Rakugo performers are: Shofukutei Kakushow, Katsura Asakichi, Katsura Kaishi, and Hayashiya Ippei.

US Tour, 1998 From October 3rd to 13th, the first English Rakugo tour was carried out in the USA. The performances were mostly at university theaters. The first stage was at University of Colorado at Boulder, Kimie Oshima's home ground, then the tour went on to universities in California. The show was also popular among young and children. For the first time, it was quite a success.